![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/starssss-b8e8.gif\")
\n\t\tWe\u2019ve thought this one thing about the universe for 100 years (Picture: Getty\/Metro)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tWe\u2019ve thought this one thing about the universe for 100 years (Picture: Getty\/Metro)<\/p>\n
The universe, that 13.8billion-year-old thing we call home, is a weird place.<\/p>\n
But one thing that has made sense to scientists<\/a> for the better part of a century is the belief that the cosmos is surprisingly uniform.<\/p>\n This is known as the\u00a0cosmological principle, or the idea that if you took a step back \u2013 a very big step back<\/a> \u2013 and took a photo of the universe, it would look smooth and blurry, like you forgot to wear glasses.<\/p>\n A paper published in the journal Nature<\/a>, however, argues this might not be the case.<\/p>\n Rather, things look different from every direction you look at from a large scale<\/a>, and the galaxies line up almost into patterns.<\/p>\n While this might not sound like a big deal, if proven, this would change the maths that explains how existence works.<\/p>\n Researchers figured this out by looking at the largest map <\/a>of the known universe observed by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument.<\/p>\n \t\t They compared this to simulations of how dark matter \u2013 the mysterious something holding galaxies together <\/a>\u2013 is distributed in a uniform cosmos.<\/p>\n Researchers checked if there was any kind of pattern when comparing them.<\/p>\n \u2018Essentially, we asked what the probability of finding a galaxy at a given distance with respect to another and along a given direction,\u2019 study co-author Marco Galoppo tells Metro.<\/p>\n Galoppo, of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, should have been left cooing at how homogeneous (the same everywhere) and isotropic (the same in all directions) the universe is. <\/p>\n It should begin to smooth out when observed at scales of about 100 megaparsecs \u2013 roughly 300 million light-years \u2013 from every direction. <\/p>\n Instead, they saw a stringy, bumpy web of galaxies and voids<\/a> even when approaching a whopping one gigaparsec, which is three billion light-years.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tFollow Metro on WhatsApp to be the first to get all the latest news\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t Metro\u2019s on Whatsapp! Join our community<\/a> for breaking news and juicy stories.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The lack of uniformity, called anisotropy, was \u2018stronger\u2019 than expected.<\/p>\n \u2018Any local structures \u2013 galaxies, clusters, filaments \u2013 are expected to \u201cwash out\u201d at large scales,\u2019 Galoppo says. <\/p>\n \u2018Our results suggest that this may not be entirely true: we see directional patterns that are stronger than expected, implying that the universe may not reach perfect isotropy even on the largest observable scales. <\/p>\n \u2018In other words, the cosmic web may leave an imprint on the overall structure and expansion of the universe in a way that does not fully average out.\u2019<\/p>\n The findings don\u2019t mean the universe has a preferred axis or direction and they need to be replicated using larger datasets.<\/p>\n So, the universe isn\u2019t uniform \u2013 so what?<\/p>\n Cosmologists, scientists who study the origin, history and evolution of the universe, expect to get things wrong. <\/p>\n But to be wrong about the cosmological principle would be a rather big deal, researchers not involved in the study told Metro.<\/p>\n Around 80% of the volume of the cosmos is made of nothing, called cosmic voids. Some have dim galaxies inside them, like a celestial oasis, or are crammed with cosmic energies we struggle to explain. <\/p>\n One thing that explains this empty space is the recipe to make a universe<\/a>: 5% ordinary matter, 27% dark matter and 68% dark energy, the other invisible something pushing our universe to expand ever faster.<\/p>\n \t\t If the universe is not uniform but more like a bowl of spaghetti, cosmologists\u00a0may have to accept that dark energy isn\u2019t that important. <\/p>\n Kathy Romer, a professor in astrophysics at the University of Sussex, says that Galoppo\u2019s paper is undoubtedly controversial. That\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n \u2018Papers such as these are valuable in that they challenge orthodox thinking: as scientists, we should always be alert to the \u201cEmperor\u2019s new clothes\u201d trap,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n \u2018Without doubt, there is something funny going on in the local-ish universe (mapped by galaxies), because there is an emerging mismatch with the distant universe (mapped by the cosmic microwave background).<\/p>\n \u2018This paper is part of a global effort to question every observation and theoretical assumption to understand that mismatch.\u2019<\/p>\n Romer stresses that Nature has a \u2018rigorous\u2019 review process and that the bar to prove things in science<\/a> is high.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018We would all (where \u201call\u201d is the observational cosmology community of 5,000 people) love this mismatch to be genuinely new physics because for us that is like winning the World Cup,\u2019 she adds. <\/p>\n \u2018But my personal opinion<\/a>, this study is part of the qualifying stages, not the final 32.\u2019<\/p>\n Konstantinos Migkas, a Dutch astrophysicist, says the findings follow similar<\/a> studies<\/a> published this year.<\/p>\n And his own<\/a>, too, which was referenced by Galoppo. Migkas and his colleagues also found signs of anisotropy, adding further questions to why there is something in some places but not elsewhere. <\/p>\n \u2018This does not mean that anything has been concluded yet, but it is natural that assumptions built into our standard model will be tested more sharply as data quality and volume improve,\u2019 Migkas tells Metro. <\/p>\n Not everyone is swayed.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s not a big deal for the world of cosmology because this paper is wrong,\u2019 says Seshadri Nadathur<\/a>, a professor in cosmology at the University of Portsmouth.<\/p>\n Nadathur suggested the patterns could be chalked up to galaxy bias, where galaxies seem to clump together, which distorts measurements. <\/p>\n \u2018The reason we believe the universe is uniform is because observations of the real universe suggest it is true, and there has never been any convincing evidence otherwise,\u2019 he adds. <\/p>\n \u2018There are occasional claims of some discovery contradicting this picture, but they are always flawed.\u2019<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_244527188-15a5.jpg\")
\n\t\tA slice of the largest map of the universe (Picture: Collaboration\/DOE\/KPNO\/NOIR)<\/p>\n![\"Apps](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1632181964-e1700130460337.jpg\")
\n\t\tFollow us to receive the latest news updates from Metro (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_245233114-8655.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe\u00a0cosmos should appear smooth and uniform when viewed at a large distance (Picture: ESA\/Webb\/NASA\/CSA\/JADES Coll\/Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_293498125-c843.jpg\")
\n\t\tThink of how a pixelated photo would look smooth from afar (Picture: NOIRLab)<\/p>\n
\nMORE: \u2018Most beautiful\u2019 meteor shower returns to UK skies \u2013 here\u2019s how to see it<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: Major clue to the origin of life found in floating space sugar<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: Mysterious \u2018green mass\u2019 spotted in waters of Loch Ness fuelling fresh Nessie rumours<\/a><\/p>\n